Were the instructions for the operation of a machine? Several machines. Or how to carry out a certain action? Yes. Did it involve tools? (To clarify: that's generic tool, not specifically hammers or wrenches.)No.

Was he maimed by a machine? Or was the machine indirectly responsible for his death? Was his death caused because he failed to use the machine correctly, or for some reason not related to literally carrying out the instructions? (Say, he dropped them into a machine and got killed while trying to fish them out.)

Was he maimed by a machine? No. Or was the machine indirectly responsible for his death? Yes. Was his death caused because he failed to use the machine correctly, Yes. or for some reason not related to literally carrying out the instructions? No. (Say, he dropped them into a machine and got killed while trying to fish them out.) No.

Ah, I was thinking "something you'd find being used by companies" versus "something an individual would own". Cars and computers would be a bit of both. Ah. Well, it's not owned by an individual. It is technically owned by a company.

Are all of the machines involved cars, or are some of them different? If different, are they still all vehicles? How do I explain this... It is arguable that several machines are involved, but since they work together to perform a single task they could count as just one or two. In the sense that, say, a single engine or transmission is made up of many machines, and both are needed to make the vehicle move. There is only one vehicle involved. It is not a car.

Hmm. Was he alone, or were there other pilots with him? Alone, but irrelevant. If there were others, was he the pilot, copilot, or navigator? Was he a learner, or even completely untrained at flying? Hm. This incident probably would never happen, because if it did, the pilot would be, by virtue of experience, competent enough to work around the problem. If he was uncompetent, in which case losing the instructions would get him killed, he probably wouldn't be in the plane in the first place.

In other words, this never happened; but it could have.

Was he in the air at the time of his mistake, or did it occour on the ground? Irrelevant, depending on the nature of the equipment with which he had a problem. Assume in the air. However, note that he did not, technically, make a mistake.

Was the machine a usual part of a plane? {Usual means something you will find in any kind of plane} No, only found in certain types of planes. Or something that he took along with him in the cockpit? No, built in.

Okay, you win the prize for best combination title and puzzle statement...

Anything to do with propellers? ejector seats?

Did the machines in question malfunction? by themselves? or through human means (i.e. did somebody screw them up?)? Did the instructions pertain to how to fix? turn back on? the machines? Or did they pertain to how to deploy emergency measures of some sort? Was the pilot attempting to fix the plane? or evacuate it?

You said he is alone. Does that mean there are no passengers (other than, technically, him)? or just that he is alone in the cockpit? Relevant?

Is the plane in question a commercial airliner? A cargo plane? A military jet? A plane used for some other kind of general aviation?

Is how he lost the directions relevant? Did he leave them at the airport? Did they get sucked out of the plane? through the toilet? through an open emergency hatch?

Hmm... Just to clear something up. Was the pilot in the plane at the time of the crash? Was the plane remote-controlled?

Okay, you win the prize for best combination title and puzzle statement... Thanks!

Anything to do with propellers? ejector seats? This.

Did the machines in question malfunction? No. by themselves? or through human means (i.e. did somebody screw them up?)? Did the instructions pertain to how to fix? turn back on? the machines? Or did they pertain to how to deploy emergency measures of some sort? This. Was the pilot attempting to fix the plane? or evacuate it? This.

You said he is alone. Does that mean there are no passengers (other than, technically, him)? Yes. or just that he is alone in the cockpit? Yes. Relevant? No. Assume a crew of one, and no passengers.

Is the plane in question a commercial airliner? A cargo plane? A military jet? This. A plane used for some other kind of general aviation?

Is how he lost the directions relevant? Yes. Did he leave them at the airport? No. Did they get sucked out of the plane? No. through the toilet? through an open emergency hatch? No.

Hmm... Just to clear something up. Was the pilot in the plane at the time of the crash? Yes. Was the plane remote-controlled? No.

Was he directly responsible for losing the instructions, or did the problem (I'm not entirely sure what word to use to describe "the problem that prevented him from ejecting") somehow cause the instructions to be "lost"? If the latter, were they printed on a flap, or screen? Did said flap break or become obscured, preventing him from reading it? If they weren't printed on a part of the mechanism itself, were they printed on paper?

Was he directly responsible for losing the instructions, or did the problem (I'm not entirely sure what word to use to describe "the problem that prevented him from ejecting") somehow cause the instructions to be "lost"? Both, really, but much more tilted towards the latter. While he was technically directly responsible for the loss, it was not his fault and no one could blame him. This is not a case of pilot error. If the latter, were they printed on a flap No, or screen {elaborate, please?}? Did said flap break or become obscured, preventing him from reading it? No. If they weren't printed on a part of the mechanism itself They were, were they printed on paper? No.

Hmm. You confirmed that the instructions were printed on the mechanism itself -- does this refer to the seat as a whole? Parts of the plane its attached to? The actual rocket that propels the seat? Would he have been able to read them without turning his head?

Since the instructions were printed on a part of the mechanism, does this mean that in losing them, the device was rendered physically unusable?

Hmm. You confirmed that the instructions were printed on the mechanism itself -- does this refer to the seat as a whole? Parts of the plane its attached to? This. The actual rocket that propels the seat? Would he have been able to read them without turning his head? Unknown, but assume no.

Since the instructions were printed on a part of the mechanism, does this mean that in losing them, the device was rendered physically unusable? If by "device" you mean the ejection seat, no.